A few days had passed since I discovered the vampire's secret desire and failed to fulfill her cherished wish. Still, I was thoroughly satisfied to have secured even the slenderest thread of a connection with her. I had made a major step forward in building relationships here in Tantalus...

Or so I had once thought.

“Could you spare me a moment?”

“Again?”

Familiarity doesn't necessarily breed fondness. It's far more likely to turn into boredom or irritation. Lately, the vampire had been seeking me out in my room or the dining hall whenever she had a spare moment, and it was giving me a headache.

There was only one reason she ever came to see me. I scrunched up my face and replied.

“You're addicted. Addicted.”

“It hardly takes any effort on your part.”

“Even so, coming to see me after all three meals and whenever you're taking a break is a bit much.”

“Just put your finger inside. I shall handle the rest.”

She didn't seem likely to listen, however much I protested. I sighed and nodded. As though she had expected nothing less, the vampire untied her clothes and approached me.

To anyone watching from a distance without knowing the full story, it would have been an enviable sight. A beautiful woman who could turn every head would light up at the sight of me, drag me somewhere secluded, and pull my hand into her chest.

Except...

“Here. Hurry.”

It wasn't her clothes she was pulling open, but her skin.

And if you knew that she was burying my hand inside her chest quite literally, rather than figuratively, you might feel differently.

I slipped my finger deep into the gap in her sliced flesh. By now, I could find the way to her heart without even looking. All too aware of that unwelcome development, I deftly felt around inside.

“Volt.”

Electricity flowed down my finger and into her heart. Weak as the spell might be, I was casting it in direct contact with a heart. The shock could have stopped it.

But this was a vampire whose heart had stopped long ago. To her, the shock was a welcome stimulus that brought back memories of the past.

“Ngh. Haa...”

A flush spread across the vampire's face. The electric shock had sent her heart throbbing, pumping blood out with fierce force. An excessive rush of blood reached even her pale, ivory face, changing its color as a brief surge of pleasure from an entirely different genre washed over her.

She let out a breathless moan and clutched my arm. It felt as though she were hanging her entire body from it, yet the weight on my arm was incredibly light.

After savoring the lingering sensation for a good while, she leaned against me, almost clinging to me.

“Haaah... You are getting... better and better... at this.”

“Humans are creatures of learning. We're getting used to each other.”

“Thank you... I shall ask for your help again.”

“Space out your visits a little. This is a nuisance for me.”

“Once you spoke of respecting your elders. Now you do not even bother to pretend.”

“I didn't know you'd be coming this often. I specifically told you not to go exposing your heart carelessly. Have you given up on following that advice?”

“This body is already dead. Even leaving my heart outside it would cause no harm. Why should I not expose it?”

The vampire tried to go a step further and pull it out to show me. I hastily reached out to stop her. With a little chuckle, she removed my hand and straightened her clothes.

“Besides, you are the only one I show it to. Take pride in that.”

“Pride? I'm not particularly thrilled about that either, you know. I'm trying to respect my elders, not do manual labor. Nobody likes extra work, regardless of age, gender, place, or era.”

“Then what if there were payment for your labor? I shall give you some gold I have stored away.”

“No thanks. Gold from before the Alchemical Revolution isn't reliable. Its actual value is about the same as a slightly prettier rock lying on the ground.”

“U-ugh. It seems rather more time has passed than I realized...”

Dejected, the vampire rested her chin on her hand and muttered.

“What should I do...? Gold and statues are about all I have left now. I do not know whether those would serve as payment.”

“What? Statues?”

“Yes. Paintings, sculptures, and the like. If I had one hobby, it was collecting works of art. The feeling they inspire lasts but a moment, yet the art itself remains. But even those... I do not know how much value they hold in this age.”

“They should at least be better than gold. Could you show me?”

“Very well. Wait here. I shall fetch them.”

The vampire left to bring her artwork. Watching her retreating figure, I gave a triumphant smile.

See? A total sucker. A little touching and a little playing hard to get, and here she was offering up her fortune of her own accord.

And artwork, at that. One of the few things that gained value with age. Works of art kept in a coffin with a vampire for over a thousand years—and belonging to an absolute ruler who had once dominated the world? Their value was beyond reckoning. This was a treasure trove worth more than most gold mines.

There was no telling what might happen in Tantalus or when. I ought to keep at least one treasure tucked away on my person. Imagining a rosy future, I turned.

'Th-th-th-that... That bastard. What is he doing with Tyrkanzyaka?!'

... After dealing with the voyeur peeking around the corner, of course.

I walked down the corridor, pretending not to have noticed a thing. The Regressor followed behind me, concealing herself with a stealth technique.

'Should I show myself? Or not? I should catch him red-handed and question him right away. No, what if he thinks I've been following him?'

What do you mean, “what if”? You have been following me. Did you leave your conscience back in your last run?

While I desperately fought the urge to say that aloud, the Regressor finally reached a conclusion after turning it over endlessly in her head.

'No! Focus on why you came here, Shei! I'm here to find out what happened in this bottomless pit and stop Azi and Tyrkanzyaka from falling into corruption! To do that... I have every right to interfere!'

In a flash, the Regressor leaped out and landed in front of me. Then she strode toward me, staring me down.

Finally decided to show yourself? I'd been waiting ages. I greeted her nonchalantly.

“Hello, Trainee Shei—”

“What did you do to Tyrkanzyaka?”

Straight to the point, then. I answered with feigned ignorance.

“Have you been following me this whole time?”

“Of course... not! By chance! I happened to see you going somewhere with Tyrkanzyaka, and I witnessed you doing something strange!”

“Something strange? I haven't done anything anyone could criticize me for.”

“You're going to deny it? I saw everything from start to finish! I even heard what you two were saying!”

What the hell? You're just a stalker.

“What the hell? You're just a stalker.”

Oops. That slipped out.

“I'm not!! If you think about it, yes! I'm like a detective on a stakeout!”

“Trainee Shei. Are you a police officer, by any chance?”

“Huh? W-well, no.”

“What? Then you're just a stalker.”

“No...!”

After working herself up and hopping about in agitation, the Regressor took a deep breath and glared at me.

“Don't change the subject. This is a very serious matter!”

“I'm the one who should be appalled. What exactly are you saying I did to Trainee Tyrkanzyaka? I certainly haven't done anything that goes against my conscience.”

“So now you're going to deny everything?”

“You're the one denying things, Trainee Shei, claiming you weren't following me.”

“That's not what's important right now!”

“Ugh, fine. Let's hear what's important, then. What is it?”

Apparently, answering her at all made her think she had me cornered. Looking even more triumphant, the Regressor shouted.

“You groped Tyrkanzyaka against her will!”

“Sorry? I did what, to whom, against her will?”

“You touched... Tyrkanzyaka... against her will...”

Even as she spoke, the Regressor realized how little sense it made, and her voice gradually trailed off. I knitted my brows and gave her a sidelong glare.

Of course it made no sense. Threaten Tyrkanzyaka, the heaven-defying monster, queen of darkness, and Progenitor of vampires, into letting me grope her?

If I could do that, why would I be living like this?

My gaze turned ice-cold. Catching my meaning, the Regressor shrieked.

“B-but I saw it clearly with Green Eyes! Y-you stuck your hand into Tyrkanzyaka's chest!”

“Yes, well. I even touched her heart.”

“How can you say that! What, do you mean you melted her frozen heart, poetically speaking?”

What are you talking about? I meant it literally. I physically touched it with this very hand.

“And you're getting better and better at it...!”

“It's not a particularly pleasant experience.”

Do you know how it feels for your hand to work its way through flesh and find a heart as naturally as anything? Sure, the vampire can control her blood however she likes and regenerate even if her body's torn to pieces, but sticking a hand inside her still feels seriously strange. Slippery flesh, twitching muscles, an oddly warm and damp interior. It's like being inside a whale's belly.

Blood, organs, muscles, bones. Humans evolved to find everything inside their bodies nauseating. Exposed organs are something like a warning of impending death. I'm no exception. Lately, my sanity points have been draining away in real time.

“Y-you. You... Anyway. Honestly, I don't really know what exactly you're doing with Tyrkanzyaka.”

Says the one who's already reached a tentative conclusion in her head. Feigning ignorance, I tilted my head and asked.

“You really don't know?”

“I don't, buuut!!”

'At this rate, both Azi and Tyrkanzyaka will be far too influenced by this man! I don't know whether this counts as corruption yet. But if it leads to that outcome later, he could be to blame!'

What am I even doing? Corruption? Why would I corrupt them? Do I have a death wish?

Judging by those wildly off-base imaginings, she really didn't know. Well, I suppose she couldn't possibly imagine I was touching a heart directly to give it an electric massage.

“It must be something weird that you can't let anyone else see!”

She had that one right. I had no rebuttal.

“You can't answer, so I must be right! I'm putting an end to that today—!”

“I do it because I enjoy it. Who are you to decide whether it ends?”

Perfect timing. The vampire had just returned, dragging a large coffin, and approached with a deliberately angry expression. She walked straight past the Regressor and planted herself in front of me, blocking the way.

The Regressor was deeply shocked that Tyrkanzyaka, who had treated her as a teacher might a student, had taken my side.

“Tyr...kanzyaka?”

'Tyrkanzyaka is standing with her back to that man, facing off against me?'

Her eyes trembled in disbelief. But the vampire's gaze was cold and frosty.

“Enough. Why must you meddle in every little thing I do? How dare a pupil raise his voice over his teacher's affairs?”

“No. I'm doing this for you!”

'In the last run, someone betrayed you and hurt you terribly, and you joined the Great War that set the world ablaze!'

Her plaintive voice carried genuine sincerity. Those words were certainly true, describing something that had once happened in the future. The Regressor clearly wanted to prevent Tyrkanzyaka's downfall and wished for her happiness.

Whether for the world's sake or for Tyrkanzyaka's own.

But only I knew that. The vampire had no ability to read thoughts.

“For me?”

The vampire scoffed, rendering those heartfelt sentiments futile.